"Shang Hang Art School is trampling on lives, return my father's life!"
The peaceful atmosphere was shattered. Yan Shouyi and Lin Zhitong both turned their heads. On the school road, a young girl suddenly raised a large poster and, through a loudspeaker, tearfully denounced Shang Hang Art School.
The poster featured a black and white photograph of a man, with an introduction below.
According to the poster and the girl's account, Yan Shouyi learned that the father the girl mentioned, the man in the black and white photo, was once a sports teacher at Shang Hang Art School named Huang Song. Eight years ago, when Shang Hang Art School was just established, he discovered quality issues with the school's running track. He incessantly reported it to his superiors, but one day, Huang Song mysteriously disappeared.
As Huang Song's daughter, Huang Shihui had never given up searching for her missing father over the years, but with no success.
Her current disruption at the school was to demand an explanation.
Many passing students stopped to watch the spectacle, pointing and discussing. The not-so-crowded road was soon packed.
"What a pitiable person," Yan Shouyi sighed.
"You have time to sympathize with others?" Lin Zhitong asked with a frown. "You should worry about yourself first."
"Why are you bringing me into this again?" Yan Shouyi asked, confused.
As soon as he spoke, a school leader passing by got out of his car and shouted angrily, "Security? Where is security! Hurry up and maintain order!"
Now Yan Shouyi understood what Lin Zhitong meant earlier.
As the captain of the security team, Yan Shouyi had to step forward to maintain order. Other security guards also rushed over.
Yan Shouyi only symbolically dispersed the students, but the other security guards skillfully took away the disruptive Huang Shihui. With the troublemaker gone, there was no more excitement to watch, and the students quickly dispersed.
At this moment, the school leader who had first noticed the problem walked towards Yan Shouyi furiously and berated him,
"Are you blind? Huang Shihui was causing trouble just now, and you didn't stop her?"
Yan Shouyi asked, confused, "She wants the school to give an explanation. If the school gives her one, what does that have to do with us security guards?"
"You...!"
The school leader was speechless for a moment, his face turning green with anger.
Yan Shouyi cautiously asked, "May I ask who you are?"
"I see, you're new, aren't you? You don't even recognize me," the school leader sneered. "I am the Director of the Moral Education Department, my name is Du Ping!"
Du Ping was small and a bit bald. He wore a white shirt and black pants, with the shirt tucked into the pants and a brown belt tied around the waist – the standard attire of an old-fashioned teacher. However, his overbearing aura was no less imposing than Gao Junming's.
Yet, even so, in Yan Shouyi's eyes, Du Ping had no deterrent effect whatsoever.
Thus, Yan Shouyi's reaction was indifferent: "Oh, Teacher Du."
Seeing Yan Shouyi's indifferent reaction, Du Ping found it even harder to back down. He took out his phone and said,
"You abandoned your post and merely occupied your position. I'm calling your captain right now to have you pack your things and get out!"
Only then did Yan Shouyi's face finally show a hint of helplessness.
But he wasn't afraid of Du Ping; he was just speechless. What had he done wrong? Why did every leader at Shang Hang Art School want to get rid of him?
He glanced back at Lin Zhitong, who was still sitting on the bench. Lin Zhitong was squinting, clearly mocking him in secret.
Du Ping, seeing Yan Shouyi's helpless expression, thought he had asserted his authority. He called Gao Junming and deliberately spoke loudly,
"Captain Gao, how are you managing your subordinates? Huang Shihui came to cause trouble again today, and your security guards just stood by and watched. Is the school paying you all to be useless gluttons?!"
Gao Junming replied helplessly, "I'm sorry, Teacher Du, I was dismissed last night. Security is no longer under my management."
"No longer under your management?" Du Ping was taken aback.
The Security Department was actually under the Moral Education Department, and Du Ping was the Director of the Moral Education Department. How could he not know about the change in security captain?
Not only did he not know, he hadn't heard even a whisper of it!
"Then who is in charge?" Du Ping pressed.
"Someone named Yan Shouyi, he's new," Gao Junming said glumly.
"Send me his phone number!"
Du Ping hung up the phone immediately after saying this.
He was an extremely selfish person. Gao Junming was useful to him in the past, so he gave him some face. Now that Gao Junming was no longer the security captain, he couldn't be bothered to exchange a single word with him.
A moment later, Gao Junming sent Yan Shouyi's phone number to Du Ping.
Du Ping dialed the number and said to Yan Shouyi with a cold smile, "You just wait, I'll have your new captain, Yan Shouyi, come over here right now!"
Yan Shouyi shrugged.
After three seconds of silence, Yan Shouyi's phone suddenly rang.
Yan Shouyi intended to pick up his phone, but Du Ping stopped him, "What are you doing?"
"Answering the phone, what else?" Yan Shouyi retorted.
"I am reprimanding you right now, you are not allowed to answer the phone!" Du Ping's tone was as stern as if he were lecturing a student.
But he made one mistake: Yan Shouyi was not a student.
Yan Shouyi spread his hands. If he wasn't going to answer, so be it. It was good to watch Du Ping's one-man show continue.
Thus, Du Ping made three calls, but no one answered.
While Du Ping was wondering, Yan Shouyi finally took out his phone, grinned, and said, "The last four digits, 4524, that's your phone number, right? Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself earlier. My name is Yan Shouyi, and I'm the newly appointed security team captain."
"You..."
Du Ping's eyes widened, staring at Yan Shouyi in disbelief. Then, the look in his eyes gradually turned into embarrassed rage: "How... how did you become the security captain?"
"That, you can go ask Vice Principal Tang yourself," Yan Shouyi said, not giving Du Ping any face, and turned to leave.
Du Ping stood alone by the roadside, utterly embarrassed. Thinking about his solitary performance just now, he wished he could turn back time and kill his foolish past self.
Lin Zhitong, who had watched the entire scene, was laughing heartily. Then, coming to her senses, she realized that Yan Shouyi had gone from a slow walk to a run – the guy was trying to ditch her again!
So Lin Zhitong quickly chased after him, saying angrily, "Why are you running!"
"The sky has turned overcast, it's going to rain soon. I'm in a hurry to go back and collect my clothes."
"You're lying. You wore this uniform yesterday, you haven't washed any clothes!"
Yan Shouyi stopped helplessly and said, "You can follow me if you want, but don't interfere with me."
"Absolutely not! I promise!" The strong woman Lin Zhitong immediately transformed into a well-behaved girl, not forgetting to swear to the heavens.
Then she asked, "Where are you going?"
"To the security office to check on that girl, Huang Shihui," Yan Shouyi replied, starting to walk again.
"You've taken a liking to her?"
"Can you stop thinking of me so frivolously?" Yan Shouyi said angrily. "I want to check on her situation, regarding her father."
"Then you might as well ask me first."
Lin Zhitong kept pace with Yan Shouyi, speaking at a moderate speed. "Huang Shihui isn't a student at our school, but everyone here knows her. She's been causing trouble at the school from time to time for three years. Initially, the police were always called, but eventually, the police got too lazy to come, and the school security handled it themselves. She always claims her father's disappearance is related to the school, but she can't provide any evidence. Everyone thinks she wants to extort money from the school, so most people don't like her."
"What about you? Do you dislike her too?" Yan Shouyi asked.
Lin Zhitong shook her head. "I don't come to school often, so I haven't encountered her many times, I don't have much of an opinion. But I admire her determination. I wonder when she'll find her father."
"She won't find him."
Yan Shouyi stopped walking and said in a deep voice, "Her father is already dead. He died right here at Shang Hang Art School!"